Blaze involving 'large amounts of asbestos' rips through barn

The cause of the fire is still unknown (Photo: Avon Fire and Rescue Service)
The cause of the fire is still unknown (Photo: Avon Fire and Rescue Service)

An extensive blaze which destroyed 150 tonnes of hay on a farm in Gloucestershire involved "large amounts of asbestos".

Crews from Avon Fire and Rescue were called to Rushmoor Dairy Farm, Badminton at around 7pm on Saturday October 6 to reports of a barn fire.

The blaze spread through the barn, which contained about 150 tonnes of hay and involved "large amounts of asbestos", according to the service.

The roof of the barn was made of white asbestos cement sheeting.

Crews, which consisted of 35 firefighters, successfully managed to stop it from spreading to an industrial unit next to the farm.

(Photo: Avon Fire and Rescue Service)
(Photo: Avon Fire and Rescue Service)

The cause of the fire is still unknown and investigations continue.

It follows news of NFU Mutual recording a sharp rise in farm fires, prompting a call for farmers to check their fire prevention and evacuation procedures.

The rural insurer's claims statistics reveal that the cost of farm fire claims rose by an alarming 26% to £44m in 2016.

The most common cause of farm fires was electrical faults, which were responsible for almost half of 2016 fire claims, according to the insurer. Arson was the next most common cause.